Fabric-Based Items With Electrical Component Arrays

A fabric-based item comprising:

• an array of light-emitting diodes mounted on a flexible substrate;
• a clear polymer layer that covers the array of light-emitting diodes;
• and
• a fabric layer that overlaps the clear polymer layer and the array of light-emitting diodes, wherein the fabric layer has a plurality of windows and wherein each light-emitting diode emits light through one of the plurality of windows.

A fabric-based item comprising:

• an array of electrical components mounted on a flexible substrate;
• a polymer layer that covers the array of electrical components;
• and
• a fabric layer to which the polymer layer is attached, wherein the fabric layer has first portion having a first transparency and a second portion having a second transparency that is greater than the first transparency and wherein the second portion of the fabric layer overlaps one of the electrical components.